How did Trump manage to get away with his brazen criminal acts for so long?
The politicians in New York must have known what he was doing? But, did they really care? He was giving them huge donations, Democrats and Republicans, in exchange for special tax breaks and special treatment.
They must have questioned where he was getting all his money? They must have thought that he was laundering money or something? But nobody challenged him. Nobody charged him. Nobody indicted him. He was untouchable in the state of New York.
It went on for decades. There were no guardrails and no binding rules. His only restraint was his imagination. Everything was about making money, fraudulently or otherwise. He usually chose to do it fraudulently. Don't pay taxes. Tell the authorities his properties were worth five or ten times their actual value, especially when attempting to put them up as collateral for a loan, so he could buy a golf course or a mansion down in Florida. Create a charitable foundation and use the money as an expense account. There were no rules for Donald Trump. He never hesitated to cheat. In fact, he preferred it.
He loved to brag about how easy he could accumulate wealth. He never said it was largely due to fraud. Tax fraud, bank fraud, insurance fraud, whatever it took.
So it was no big surprise that he would continue his criminal ways once he made it to the White House. Although not yet proven, he may have acted criminally to get to the White House, with the assistance of his Russian friends? He saw it as an opportunity to make his deals all around the world. He could be the King of the World.
But then, he lost an election he was not supposed to lose. He hated leaving the White House more than anything in his life. He relished the power of being the President of the United States. It massaged his ego better than anything ever.
He refused to let go of the power he had accumulated over the four years in the White House. He created the "Big Lie". And he persuaded his followers to echo his grievances. He was willing to tear the country apart to maintain control of his power. He incited a mob to attack the US Capitol and attempted to overthrow the previous election and to declare himself the true winner. Many people bought into his "Big Lie".
However, before he would leave quietly and with dignity, he chose to steal national security secrets and take them to Mar-a-Lago with him. That brazen act led the FBI to go into his mansion and seize the documents he had stolen. He was caught red-handed.
Then the AG of New York sued him for $250 million dollars for the many crimes and fraudulent acts he had committed over the years. She had the receipts.
Finally, it looks like the law has finally caught up with Donald Trump? Will he be able to buy his way out? Will he be able to threaten and extort to get his way? Or will he finally be held accountable?
= new reply since forum marked as read
Trump has a massive right wing propaganda arm that would happily jump off a cliff for him and would kill anyone who stands in their way. 
... all that happened over 25 years ago. The TREASON he has committed in the last 6 years will never get a pass from the DoJ or the FBI. If it does, then our country is already screwed.
